As American Airlines Flight 5342 approached a runway at Reagan National Airport on Wednesday night, an air traffic controller reached out to an Army helicopter that was approaching the plane’s path to make sure its pilots saw the plane, a Bombardier CRJ700, or Canadair regional jet.
“Do you have C.R.J. in sight?” the controller asked, according to a radio traffic feed on LiveATC.net, a website broadcasts air traffic control communications. A helicopter pilot responded that he did and said he would use “visual separation” — meaning he would keep an eye on the aircraft and make sure he was staying a safe distance away.
But moments later, the helicopter and the incoming jet collided. The audio registers sounds of concern in the air traffic controller’s background. Someone on the channel asks the air traffic controllers, “Tower, did you see that?”
Shortly after, all takeoffs and landings were halted at the Washington, D.C., airport as emergency personnel rushed to the scene.
“I believe they’re going to close the airport for an indefinite amount of time. I might suggest heading back to the gate,” a controller told a plane on the ground.
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